Buried in a letter to the Church of Ephesus ( Revelation 2 ), John has a number of remarks against this church located in a city that had a famous temple to Diana (the Roman version of the Greek god Artemis). Ephesus, compared to a number of other churches that received letters in Revelation, had quite a few good marks from God. Aside from growing a bit stagnant in their fervor for God, they had resisted wicked practices, endured persecution, and weeded out false apostles from destroying their church. The letter also makes one more positive remark. They hate the practices of a group called the Nicolaitans, which God also appears to hate ( Revelation 2:6 ). Although it’s not out of the ordinary for God to hate practices of pagan groups, such as the child sacrifice of the Canaanites ( Leviticus 20:2-5 ), this group mentioned seems to stand out from other sects that have arisen in Scripture and throughout church history. Nicolaitans have drawn a great deal of scholarly debate, because m